The year's biggest rainstorm in Ventura County arrived Tuesday afternoon, prompting evacuations and school cancellations.

The rains were expected to increase gradually Wednesday with a lull expected Wednesday night, said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

By late Wednesday and early Thursday, the storm was expected to shift north and intensify, with the bulk of the rain focused on the burn areas in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

"That's the time of most concern," Kittell said.

The storm is still on track to bring 2 to 5 inches of rain along the coasts and in valleys and 5 to 10 inches of rain to the foothills and mountains, Kittell said. It's a wide range but western Ventura County is expected to record totals on the higher side and totals on the eastern side were projected to be on the lower side, Kittell said.

Storm preparation was in place Wednesday morning in Ventura. Plastic tarps and straw wattles were placed at the site of former Buena Vista Street homes that burned during the Thomas Fire. LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR

Julia Scoggin, a teacher at Ventura High School, takes a walk Wednesday on the beach trail in Ventura near Harbor Boulevard. Scoggin said she likes to take a daily power walk. CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ/THE STAR

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Latest updates

Wednesday 11:15 p.m.: Among those who might be spending the night away from home is Carolyn Potter, 59, of Casitas Springs, according to The Associated Press. She evacuated on Tuesday, but returned the same day when no rain materialized in her neighborhood. Potter evacuated again when she woke up to rain Wednesday morning and planned to sleep in her car in a grocery store parking lot to avoid hotel costs and the bustle of an evacuation shelter. Meanwhile, her husband, Alan, is staying home, just like he has the other three times Potter has evacuated because of fires or storms since September. "If something happens, maybe I'll zip on down and dig him out," Potter said.

Wednesday 9:30 p.m. The National Weather Service reported record-breaking rainfall totals for Oxnard and Camarillo: 1.82 inches at the National Weather Service building in Oxnard and 1.68 inches at the Camarillo Airport. Both totals exceed the previous record amount for March 21 of 1.3 inches of rain for both cities set in 1937.

Wednesday 4:45 p.m.: The Ventura County Watershed Protection District issued rainfall totals as of 4 p.m. Here's what the district says has been recorded over the last 24 hours:

Wednesday 3:30 p.m.: CHP issued a Sigalert for westbound Highway 118 due to a traffic accident blocking three lanes of the freeway by Rocky Peak Road. Motorists are advised to seek out alternative routes or expect heavy traffic.

Wednesday 2:45 p.m.: A winter warming shelter has opened for homeless residents in Oxnard. The shelter is located at Mission Church, 2875 Elba St., and will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.

Another day shelter hosted by Community Action of Ventura County is open in Oxnard, located at 621 Richmond Ave. A night winter warming shelter is open at the Ventura Armory, 1270 Arundell Avenue, beginning at 6 p.m. each night. Finally, an American Red Cross Shelter is also open at Ventura College, 4667 Telegraph Road, for evacuees of the storm.

Wednesday 2 p.m.: A southbound Pacific Surfliner train was stopped indefinitely in Carpinteria due to a mudslide covering the train tracks near Ventura. Maintenance crews were working to clear the tracks, but had no estimated reopening time, authorities said.

Wednesday 1:50 p.m.: Minor flooding was reported in Casitas Springs in the area near Nye Road, which was closed to through traffic, according to Ventura the County Fire Department.

Wednesday 12:40 p.m.: Three Ventura schools will be closed Thursday, Superintendent David C. Creswell announced. Ventura High, DeAnza Academy of Technology and Loma Vista schools will be affected. All other Ventura Unified schools will be open.

Wednesday noon: Mud, water and rocks were blocking the slow and middle lanes of northbound Highway 101, just south of the Seacliff off-ramp. The California Highway Patrol and Caltrans were called to the scene.

Wednesday 10:50 a.m.: The National Weather Service reported that through 10 a.m. the rainfall rates in Oxnard and Camarillo have reached 0.50 of an inch to 0.60 of an inch an hour. Some of their equipment has picked up some places in Port Hueneme where rates were nearly 0.75 of an inch in an hour.

Wednesday 10:46 a.m.: Having trouble loading www.vcemergency.com? If yes, call the county's emergency information line at 805-465-6650 to get your questions answered.

Wednesday 10:35 a.m.: The California Highway Patrol is responding to more traffic collisions as the rainfall gets heavier. There have been no crashes involving serious injuries so far but the patrol is urging motorists to slow down.

The Ventura County Watershed Protection District issued rainfall totals as of 8 a.m. Here's what the district says has been recorded over the last 24 hours:

Wednesday 9:50 a.m.: The California Highway Patrol reports that Highway 33 from Fairview Road and Lockwood Valley Road is closed due to mud and debris flow.

Lake Casitas has also closed down for precautionary reasons.

Wednesday 9:28 a.m.: In the January storm that triggered fatal debris flows in Montecito and other areas of Santa Barbara County affected by the Thomas Fire, the National Weather Service said rainfall rates were about 1.5 inches per hour.

The weather agency reported about a half inch of rain was reported in Montecito in about five minutes when the January storm hit.

Rainfall rates early Thursday could get close to 1 inch per hour if thunderstorms occur as the heaviest band of rain falls over the burn areas in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

So far, no major damage has been reported. However, crews with the Ventura County Fire Department briefly responded to a report of flooding in Ojai.

Wednesday 8:30 a.m.: A heavier band of rain was moving into Santa Barbara County and was likely to make its way to Ventura County by late morning, said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

Rainfall rates on Wednesday were expected to be about half of an inch to a quarter of an inch per hour, he said. However, a slight chance of thunderstorms are in the forecast and could increase those rainfall rates, Kittell said.

The meteorologist said lightning strikes were reported off the coast Wednesday morning.

Kittell said a lull in the storm was expected Wednesday night but by early Thursday morning the system was expected to shift north and intensify. That's when the heaviest rain was forecast to fall and was set to focus over the burn areas in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, Kittell said.

Should a thunderstorm occur over a burn area early Thursday the potential for damaging debris flow would get worse, he said.

"That's when we'd get the inch per hour kind of stuff and that's when we'd get the most damaging debris flows," Kittell said.

Without the addition of rainstorms, the heaviest rainfall rates expected early Thursday were half of an inch to three-quarters of an inch per hour, Kittell said.

Wednesday 6:30 a.m.: National Weather Service specialist Stuart Seto said alternating heavy and light rains could be expected throughout the day Wednesday.

As of 6:30 a.m., Ventura had received around a quarter inch of rain since Tuesday evening.

Tuesday 10:30 p.m.: According to data provided by the Ventura County Watershed Protection District, most inhabited regions of the county have received between 0.04 and 0.13 of an inch of rain. Along the mountains in the north of the county, rainfall up to half an inch has been recorded, with the highest totals coming from Lockwood Valley Yard.

Rain Totals

Wednesday 4:45 p.m.: The Ventura County Watershed Protection District issued rainfall totals as of 4 p.m. Here's what the district says has been recorded over the last 24 hours:

Camarillo 1.77

Casitas Station 2.01

El Rio 1.44

Fillmore Sanitation 1.22

Lake Piru 1.14

Lake Sherwood 1.36

Lockwood Valley 1.49

Matilija Canyon 2.07

Moorpark 1.66

Oak View 1.86, Ojai 1.71

Oxnard Civic Center 0.75

Piru 1.28

Port Hueneme-Oxnard Sanitation 1.98

Santa Paula 1.54

Saticoy 1.32

Simi Valley 1.48

Thousand Oaks 1.87

Ventura City Hall 1.70

Ventura County Government Center 1.53

All rainfall totals are measured in inches.

Evacuations

Mandatory evacuation orders - Ventura County

Matilija Canyon: Effective as of Tuesday at noon and expires Thursday 5 p.m.

North Fork: Effective as Tuesday at noon and expires Thursday at 5 p.m.

Casitas Springs, Nye Road and surrounding areas: Effective as of Tuesday at noon and expires Thursday at 5 p.m.

La Conchita: Effective as of Tuesday at noon and expires Thursday at 5 p.m.

Voluntary evacuation orders

Casitas Pass Road, between Santa Ana Road and Rincon Road: Effective as of Tuesday at noon and expires Thursday at 5 p.m.

Ojai Road, between Thomas Aquinas College Road and Reeves Road: Effective as of Tuesday at noon and expires Thursday at 5 p.m.

Ojai Road, between Thomas Aquinas College and Bridge Road: Effective as of Tuesday at noon and expires Thursday at 5 p.m.

East Ojai, from Gridley Road east to Reeves Road: Effective as of Tuesday at noon and expires Thursday at 5 p.m.

Norway Tract, east side of Floral Drive: Effective as of Tuesday at noon and expires Thursday at 5 p.m.

Wheeler and Aliso canyons: Effective as of Tuesday at noon and expires Thursday at 5 p.m.

Rincon Point: Effective as of Tuesday at noon and expires Thursday at 5 p.m.

Voluntary evacuations - Ventura

Effective as of Tuesday at noon and expires Thursday at 5 p.m.

Westside neighborhoods: Generally, all areas east of Wall Street, east of Cedar Street, east of Cameron Street north or West Main Street to Dakota Drive.

Downtown neighborhoods: Generally north of Poli Street from Cedar to Kalorama Drive, including Holy Cross School.

Midtown neighborhoods: Generally, north of Poli Street from Kalorama Drive to Aliso Lane south to Main Street, east to Lincoln Drive north to Poli Street east to Agnus, including Ventura High School.

Midtown neighborhoods: Agnus south to Loma Vista, east to Shamrock, north to Foothill Rd (Includes Loma Vista School)

East-end neighborhoods: East of Appian Way/Court Avenue to Ashwood north of Telegraph Road

All areas north of Pomona Street, Beckford Street, Albion to Victoria Avenue

All areas north of Foothill Road from Victoria Avenue to Kimball Road

Closures

Roads

Around 3 p.m. Wednesday, Highway 34 was closed in Camarillo between Las Posas and Pleasant Valley Roads due to flooding.

Shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday, Highway 33 was closed north of the Ojai Valley between Fairview Road and Lockwood Valley Road. Drivers were advised to use Lockwood Valley via Interstate 5 north to Frazier Park.

Harbor Boulevard in Ventura was closed from Sanjon to California Street.